Another 93-win season, another October with an empty Safeco Field. Oh well, wait 'til next year, right? We'll have to. In light of the last two seasons though, I believe this team needs a significant overhaul before 2004 if we plan to compete. Sketching it roughly, I'd like to see Jeff Cirillo, Mark McLemore, and Mike Cameron gone, replaced by Aaron Boone at third, Kazuo Matsui at short (Carlos Guillen becomes the utility guy) and a power hitting outfielder (Randy Winn can be moved to center if need be). I suspect Freddy Garcia will be gone too, with Rafael Soriano stepping into the rotation. That would, of course, mean some changes in the bulpen, but that's not necessarily a bad thing either. We would probably benefit from moving Arther Rhodes, and I doubt Armando Benitez fits in our long term plans either. John Olerud is another likely candidate to leave, but if we can add Aaron Boone, Matsui and a power hitting outfielder, we could afford to keep his excellent defense even though his offensive production is sub-par for a first baseman.
It's still unclear as to whether we'll see Edgar Martinez next year. So I'll wait until Edgar makes an official decision before I give him a farewell here. I'm sure I speak for Mariner fans (and really, baseball fans) everywhere when I say, "We'd be delighted to have you back. No Mariner deserves success more than you."
The team did set a modern-day record by using only five starting pitchers all year. The feat had not been accomplished since 1966 when the Dodgers did it during the four-man rotation era. It had been done three other times before that, all in the three-man rotation era, and all before 1905. It takes a lot of luck and a lot of skill to do this, so congratulations to our boys.
We do have several guys worthy of recognition for their statistical accomplishments this year. At the head of the group is Jamie Moyer, who set a personal and team record with 21 wins, which was the 2nd highest total in the majors this year (Roy Halladay won 22). Moyer finished 6th in ERA (3.27) and 8th in innings pitched (215). Moyer is also in a great position to reach two milestones next year: He is 13 wins away from passing Randy Johnson as the Mariner's all-time win leader (129), and 15 wins away from 200 for his career. I don't know where other active players rank on that list, but provided Moyer is the next to do it, he would become the 100th pitcher to accomplish that feat.
Offensively, Ichiro had a another great year. Unfortunately, his season was marred by an August slump and a difficult standard to achieve (matching his 2001 season). Still, he had another 200-hit season (212). That gives him 662 in his first three seasons, which is not a record, but it certainly puts him in select company. He finished 5th in stolen bases with 34 and 6th in runs scored with 111. Bret Boone had another excellent season too. Boone hit 35 home runs (6th) with 117 RBI's (3rd), to go along with 111 runs scored, and a not-too-shaby 16 stolen bases from a guy that you don't expect to steal. With 96 home runs in the last three years, Boone tied Ryne Sandberg for most homers by a second baseman in a three year stretch. Obviously Ichiro and Boone both play excellent defense and stand a good chance to get their 3rd consecutive AL Gold Gloves. Cameron and Olerud are strong contenders for Gold Glove honors as well. As a team, the Mariners led both leagues with the fewest team errors (65) and the highest team fielding percentage (.989).
Finally, the Mariner of the Year (MOY) goes to Jamie Moyer. The top five: 1) Moyer, 2) Bret Boone, 3)Ichiro, 4) Shigetoshi Hasegawa, and 5) Edgar Martinez.
Posted by at September 29, 2003 12:13 PM